At the End of That Memory Chapter 18

There was nothing I could say. I felt like I would hurt Kwon Yido’s feelings even more if I opened my mouth too hastily. He placed the teacup down on the table, watching the spilled tea.

“I’m not asking you to be sorry.”

Aside from that, he looked to be in a very bad mood.

“…”

The time I spent with Lee Taeseong was very short compared to the time I spent with Kwon Yido. We only spent a few hours together in the morning at most, and we rarely talked because we were each reading a book. On the contrary, didn’t Kwon Yido talk to me for a couple of hours every night?

But why do I feel bad?

Instead of asking, I pressed my palms under the table. If I didn’t do this, I wouldn’t be able to bear the tickling feeling. Rather than questioning the unpleasantness he was showing, I understood it first, so my lips moved without me realizing it.

“…Should we put lights in the greenhouse?”

He blinked slowly. It was as if he was asking what that meant. I felt embarrassed and slightly frowned.

“We can spend time with each other after you get off work…”

Honestly, I thought it was sophistry. It was true that I was worried for a moment whether this would make sense. But the only answer I could give was this.

“I am not saying this to compensate or anything but there is no one yet to spend that time with me.”

“…”

If we added lights to the greenhouse, we would be able to talk here even after the sun goes down. The road might be a bit dark, but if we walked side by side, it wouldn’t be that scary. Of course, all of this would only happen after Kwon Yido willingly accepted my words.

“If you don’t like it…”

“No.”

The answer came back like a knife. He awkwardly released his neck, covering his mouth with one hand. The next word that came out was so soft that it tickled my ears.

“Let’s do that.”

A faint smile appeared in his eyes. It was his usual friendly smile as if he had never been offended. It seemed like he was a little embarrassed, so only then did I feel a little bit of relief.

“Jung Sejin is really…”

“I’m kind, right?”

When I said it jokingly, Kwon Yido burst out laughing. The Alpha pheromones cooled down the atmosphere. I kept thinking about how he was the kinder one.

“Rather…Are you already home from work?”

This morning, Kwon Yido left home after finishing breakfast. He didn’t say anything about coming home early, nor did he say he would come to the greenhouse. His attire was still the same as that of a suit, so what’s the point of leaving work at this hour?

“I need to go out again, but I just stopped by. I have something to say to Jung Sejin, and I will do it now.”

“What have you got to say?”

“The doctor is scheduled to come from the hospital in the afternoon.”

A memory came to mind when I heard the word ‘Doctor.’ The day after the heat cycle, I wanted to do a pheromone test as suggested by Kwon Yido in the underground garage.

“They said they would come around 1 o’clock, so you can get tested right after lunch. You don’t have any plans for the afternoon, right?”

“Yes, there is nothing like that.”

How can someone who played and ate at home have a schedule? I was planning on taking a walk around the garden.

“You’ll probably have to take a blood test, but I’ll be with you, so don’t worry.”

“…”

Just hearing this made me feel like I was a child who didn’t want to get injection shots. Even if it were a pheromone test, all I had to do would be to give some blood.

“I think it’s you who is worried.”

“You’re right. I came because I was worried.”

The tone was so casual that I even missed the moment to retort. He took the poetry book I had put down, looked through the first page, and talked to me.

“So have you thought about what you want?”

“Oh, that…”

It had already been a week since I decided to tell him what I wanted in exchange for his car keys. Although I didn’t mention it directly, I was thinking about what kind of item I should choose.

“Please give me the perfume you mentioned last week.”

“If it’s the perfume I was talking about…The one from Company G?”

“Yes, that.”

It was an item that Kwon Yido could be satisfied with, and it was not difficult to clean up later. The library was too large to choose a book, so the perfume I mentioned seemed appropriate. I didn’t know exactly what it was, but if I told him about it first, it would be something that would catch his eye.

“You’re smart.”

He suddenly said something unintelligible and gently raised the corner of his mouth. The gaze was still fixed on the poetry collection.

“You didn’t even know what kind of perfume it is, but since it came out of my mouth first, I guess I wouldn’t reject it at least.”

“…”

I flinched. Fortunately, since he was reading a book, I was able to straighten his posture before he noticed. He looked back at me with puzzled eyes, as if he was very surprised.

“You’re not denying it?”

“…I shouldn’t tell lies which can be caught anyway.”

Why are you pretending to know?…was what he wanted to ask. If I asked him once about what kind of scent it was, I would have been discovered right away.

“Even though I didn’t want it, I was curious about it. I was also interested because you said it would suit me…Can we do it like this?”

“Yes, of course we can.”

He put down the poetry book and raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. He had an expression full of interest as if he had heard something interesting.

“If you’re curious, you should have it.”

It was possible because it was not someone else, but Kwon Yido. If it was someone else, they would ask everything I was curious about. But he was a person with enough money and ability to do that.

“The perfume I was talking about is inspired by Lily of the Valley.”

He softly explained the perfume in his elegant voice. The design changed every year and new products were released, but only about 100 were made available in Korea. I couldn’t hide my astonishment when I heard that there were only 4,500 of them in the world.

“…It is a limited edition.”

“It’s not to the point where it can’t be ordered.”

He lifted his left hand and checked the watch on his wrist. It was a watch with a mixture of silver and gold that went well with the engagement ring. Perhaps it was a product that could display the date, as he slightly frowned at the corner of one eye to gauge the period.

“There aren’t many reservations left…”

Kwon Yido spoke softly and pursed his lips. The lips, which had been tightly closed, did not open until quite a long time had passed. I was about to ask why he did that all of a sudden, but he blurted out.

“I’d like to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s say Jung Sejin has someone he loves.”

“…”

It was a sudden remark. That was completely unrelated to the conversation we were having so far. When I did not understand and asked again, Kwon Yido said further that it was just an example.

“That person is going to steal something from Jung Sejin, and if he loses it, the damage to Jung Sejin will be very great.”

What would the person I love steal from me? I wondered if he was talking about a book, but he didn’t give me a chance to ask. He just wrapped his right hand around the watch and added in a calm tone.

“In this case, there are two options. Do you give it to him willingly, or do you hide it instead?”

“…”

“What do you think Jung Sejin would do?”

Our eyes met. Kwon Yido’s expression was too serious to be just an example. The two sunken eyes even look pitiful in a way.

“…I think I’ll ask first.”

What? Kwon Yido was asking that question with his gaze. As if I had been tied up so that I couldn’t move, his eyes stared into my face. I lowered my eyebrows in embarrassment and spoke slowly.

“I will ask that person why that thing is so necessary.”

If it was something he needed so much that I would just steal it, I felt like I would be willing to give it away. It might depend on how much damage was done to me, but if it were someone I loved, I wanted to do anything for them. I didn’t have anything precious that I shouldn’t have lost in the first place.

“I don’t think the person I love would recklessly steal from others.”

I had never been in a relationship with anyone, let alone love. Even though I didn’t have a specific ideal type for a partner, I just had that thought. I wondered why that person would steal from someone else.

“I think I’ll just ask them first and then give it to them if they really need it.”

“…”

“There must be something going on with them since they stooped so far to commit stealing.”

As I talked to that point, I suddenly felt that the atmosphere was very awkward. The greenhouse was so warm, but how could the conversation be so bleak? It was not something serious, it was just a simple assumption.

“Of course, it’s difficult to take a loss, but…It would be nice to get some brownie points after giving the person what he needs.”

The last sentence was almost a joke. It was not that I wanted Kwon Yido to smile, but I wanted the atmosphere to lighten up a little. But for some reason, he muttered with a blank expression on his face.

“…Okay.”

I felt embarrassed. He was listening too seriously to the trivial answer. So I asked him if this would also be helpful, and he readily answered as if it were very obvious.

“Yes. A lot.”

“…”

I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed like it helped. So, he could smile happily with such a refreshing face.

“That makes sense. I also know that you are the type of person who gives away your possessions when you love someone.”

“Um, well…”

“But I can’t do that. Giving it away.”

Kwon Yido, laughing, slowly stood up. The flower petals that had fallen on the floor were crushed flat by the clean, new shoes. No matter how I looked at it, it was an action that could only be seen as intentional.

“I am careful not to let anything that is mine be taken away.”

“…”

What kind of person would take something from Kwon Yido? They might have to be held twice as responsible even if they had stolen it by mistake.

“Well…It might be a different story if I gave it to them with my own hands.”

He said that and held out his hand with a kind smile. There was nothing on his hand, palm facing up. I wondered for a moment what this meant. He jerked and moved his hand.

“Let’s go in.”

I reflexively placed my hand on Kwon Yido’s hand. Just like he did on our engagement day, he carefully squeezed my hand. The slightly cool body temperature took on an extremely cozy feeling.

* *

As Kwon Yido said, the physician came as soon as the afternoon came. The woman who introduced herself as Professor Shim was a doctor in charge of the department related to unusual traits at Seonho Hospital. She drew my blood, ran various tests, and examined carefully if there was anything uncomfortable.

The result was normal. Except for the parts that were strange from the beginning, no special features were found. Pheromone concentration and various health conditions were higher than normal than ever before.

It was natural. I slept well and ate well, so it would be strange if I had a problem. It was a bit troublesome that the heat cycle became irregular, but Professor Shim said this as if it was no big deal.

‘This is a phenomenon that usually occurs between people who are imprinted, but sometimes, if the pheromone compatibility is good, the cycle may be slightly accelerated to suit the other person.’

When he said those words, Professor Shim looked directly at Kwon Yido. So, in the end, it was because I was reacting to Kwon Yido’s pheromone that my cycle was accelerated. Not only was it because he was so dominant, but she also said that it was because I didn’t have Alpha pheromone immunity.

‘It will probably be adjusted over half a year, and once it becomes completely the same, it will enter a plateau.’

It couldn’t have been a very difficult situation. We were not married, so what if our cycles were the same? If Kwon Yido’s goal was to have offspring, he would have welcomed it, but he had already made it clear that he did not want that.

‘There is no problem with your health…’

When Professor Shim said that, I reflexively avoided Kwon Yido’s gaze. That was because I couldn’t forget my father’s reaction the day he heard something similar to this. It was no use calculating the cycle anymore, so how useless did Kwon Yido think I was?

‘Thank goodness.’

But the moment I thought about that, one word pierced my ear. The soft voice was distinctly different from my father’s.

‘That’s it.’

It was a relief. There were no real problems solved. I even heard that the only solution to the heat cycle is not an inhibitor, but Kwon Yido’s pheromone.

Anyway, the result was okay, and Kwon Yido received a call from his secretary and headed back to the company. He looked back at me with a regretful look on his face, saying that I would have to eat dinner alone today. I wanted to say it again, it was okay to eat alone.

“…But the problem is that it is still disappointing.”

I buried myself deeply in the bathtub with a sigh. Steam rose from the warm water. It wasn’t a fragrant bath bomb like last time, but something like salt was spread on it. Thanks to Kwon Yido’s instructions, the employee prepared dinner as soon as my bath was over.

‘Don’t wait, go to sleep.’

I felt complicated, to say the least. A lot of thoughts came to my mind, then they disappeared again, and then soon after, I was again covered with random thoughts.

There was only one cause of concern: Kwon Yido. Kwon Yido, a person I didn’t know until just a month ago, was now my fiancé. The attitudes he showed me pointed to one fact that was now undeniable.

I think he likes me. Even if it wasn’t love, it was at least something resembling a crush. The way he cared about me and cherished me was similar to affection.

Honestly, I would be lying if I said I was clueless. I simply couldn’t admit it, and I suspected it might be the case from the beginning. The calculations didn’t seem right, so I denied it until now,

The problem was, was it a premonition that soon I would develop feelings for him that I couldn’t handle?

It was said that when a person had free time, the first thing he did was look for someone to give his heart to. The end of solitude was loneliness, so the more space there was, the more anxious we became to fill it. As soon as I came into this house, the space I had left, which was not even an inch, grew to accommodate him.

Since when did it start?

When I realized that the discomfort he showed me was jealousy, or when I previously relieved myself by remembering his gaze when he comforted me during my heat cycle, or when he was with me during my heat cycle which I always spent alone, or when he went out of his way to make time for me.

There were so many guesses, it was difficult to find the right answer. No, maybe it was a problem for which there was no clear answer from the beginning.

“…”

I raised my head and gazed at the sky beyond the clear glass window. It was a time when the sun was setting, so it was a mysterious color as if purple paint had been released. I wish I could see the sky from the bathtub, it was exactly what I had hoped for as a joke one day.

‘Sejin.’

Come to think of it, he called me Sejin. The kiss was natural, but the way he comforted me crying was clumsy. However, when he touched my ear, he was skillful as if it was something that happened all the time.

“Sejin…”

Before I could think deeply, I got out of the bathtub. I roughly patted off my wet hair, put on only a robe, and came out of the bathroom. Water droplets fell on the floor, but there was no need to pay much attention.

As soon as I returned to the room, my cell phone rang with perfect timing. The caller was Chief Kim, and the moment I saw that name, I felt some kind of tension. I answered the phone calmly, trying to control my upset stomach.

“Yes, Chief Kim.”

– Director. It’s me.

It was a title I had heard several times. Even though I was not the head of the division anymore. But before I could point out that fact, I heard Chief Kim’s voice.

– I think you’ll have to stop by your parents’ house soon.